Magnetic means for moving a drafting apron to engage a strand



5. RICKLIN April 6, 1965 MAGNETIC MEANS FOR MOVING A DRAFTING APRON TO ENGAGE A STRAND Filed Sept. 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. SAUL R l CKU N BY S. RICKLIN April 6, 1965 MAGNETIC MEANS FOR MOVING A DRAFTING APRON TO ENGAGE A STRAND Filed Sept. 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 uvmvrox AUL RI CKLIN ATTORNEYS United States Patent MAGNETIC NEANS FOR MOVING A DRAFTING APRON T0 ENGAGE A STRAND Saul Ricklin, Bristol, R.I., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Dixie Machine & Tool Company, Greenshero, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Sept. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 59,332 3 Claims. (Cl. 19-448) This invention relates to a drafting apparatus such as is used for drawing a textile strand.

In a textile drawing apparatus, as a strand is attenuated, fibers of the strand tend to extend outwardly from the axis of the strand whereas it is desirable to maintain these fibers in the strand and to control them as the strand is attenuated between the back and the front rolls.

In order to control the fibers of a strand aprons are sometimes used presenting a straight run so that the strand extends between two aprons and is engaged for a longer extent of its travel between the back and front pairs of rolls. However it is known that at times such belts drive ahead and separate or buckle so that the belt is spaced from and does not engage the strand the full distance between the belts as is desired.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an arrangement which will prevent separation or buckling of a stretch of belt which is intended to engage the strand throughout its extent.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means to maintain contact of the belt or belts with the strand throughout the extent of the belt or belts adjacent the path of travel of the strand.

Another object of the invention is to urge the supports or control for the strand into engagement with the strand along the entire length of the travel of the strand in their proximity.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means between two pairs of rolls on opposite sides of the strand and magnetically urging these means together for controlling the strand.

More specifically an object of the invention is to use magnetic force to urge surface engagement with the strand.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation and sectional view of a fragmental portion of a spinning apparatus showing the relation of the back and front pair of rolls with the intermediate control for the fibers between them;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the fragmental portion of the drawing apparatus showing the parts which enter into the consideration of this invention.

FIGURES 3 to 7 are sectional views of fragmental portions of the apparatus showing modified arrangements.

In proceeding with the invention I exercise control over the strand between pairs of rolls by utilizing material having surfaces to engage the strand as drafted which material may be magnetized to urge the engaged surfaces in such a way as to contact the strand throughout the extent of the strand between them as the strand extends from one pair of rolls to the next forward pair of rolls.

With reference to the drawings 10 designates a fragmental portion of a roll stand for supporting the lower front roll 11 and the lower back roll 12 of the apparatus. The back upper roll 13 has its shaft 14 bearing in cap bars having slots 15 while each pair of front upper rolls 16 has their shaft 17 supported in a bearing carried by a saddle designated generally 18 and comprising a front part 19 in which the bearing is located and a back part 20 3,173,352 Patented Apr. 6, 1965 so as to apply pressure on the rolls through a stirrup and weighting mechanism not shown. A shaft 21 also supported in the roll stand extends the length of the machine or from roll stand to roll stand where the shafts 21 are keyed together at their ends for driving the length of the frame.

A bracket 22 is supported on a rod 23 which forms a part of the frame of the drafting apparatus and extends forwardly by means of a rib-like portion 24 to be supported on the bar 25 also extending lengthwise of the apparatus or from roll stand to roll stand. A plate 26 is supported by this rib-like structure 24 and is substantially the width of a cot or roll. The plate is at such a height that it is in a position to support a strand which leaves the nipof the back pair of rolls 12 and 13 for extending to the nip of the front pair of rolls 11 and 16. A roll 27 is supported in a cap bar by means of its shaft 29 and is driven by means of gear 31 on shaft 29 meshing with gear on lower shaft 21 which is driven from one end of the frame. Belt 32 extends about this roll 27 and also about the nose bar 28 so as to provide a stretch 33 of belt parallel to and closely adjacent the plate 26 so that when a strand extends between the nip of the back pair of rolls and the nip of the front pair of rolls, it will be engaged by the belt and the plate so as to prevent the fraying or extending outwardly of its fibers as it is attenuated or drawn to a smaller size.

In some cases the drive of the roll 27 will cause the belt along the stretch 33 to be forced forwardly to a greater extent than the belt is pulled about the nose bar 28 and the belt may tend to buckle or separate from the plate 26 below it. In order to overcome such separation or buckling, the plate 26 which is used as shown in FIGURE 1 is of iron such that it will be attracted to a magnet and the belt 32 is of a special character being of natural or synthetic rubber or some similar material into which a sufiicient quantity of particles are embedded which particles may be magnetized to such an extent that the belt which carries them will be attracted to the iron plate 26 and will remain in snug engagement with it throughout the extent that it travels along the plate. I have found that a magnetizing force of 40,000 ampere turns may be readily obtained in the pmticles of such a belt and that this is sufiicient to maintain the belt attracted toward the plate throughout the extent of the stretch 33 thereof.

In FIGURE 3 I have shown a belt 35 which has a stretch 36 extending along the plate 37. In this case the plate 37 is of a magnetized material and the belt 35 contains iron particles or iron oxide particles which are of such volume that the belt along the stretch 36 will be attracted to the plate 37 and maintain contact therewith throughout the length of the stretch 36 except as it may be separated by a strand of work, this showing in FIG- URE 3 being substantially the reverse of the showing in FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE 4 I have shown the upper roll 27 having a driving gear 31 the same as before and also I have shown the gear 30 which meshes with and drives the gear 31 but in this figure a roll 38 coaxial with shaft 21 is provided about which there extends a belt 39 which travels over a nose bar 40 and I have provided a plate 41 supported from this nose bar so as to extend close to the roll 38 and over which the belt 39 travels. Also there is an upper belt 42 which extends over the nose bar 43 and about the roll 27. In carrying out this magnetizing system of operation the plate 41 is of iron material whereas the belts each have embedded in them a magnetized material so that the stretch of the lower belt 44 and the stretch of the upper belt 45 will be both attracted to the metal plate 41 beneath the two of them causing these two stretches of belts to engage throughout their stretches 44 and 45 to maintain contact with the strand throughout their extent. a

In FIGURE substantially the reverse is shown of the arrangement FIGURE 4. Here we have the same nose bars 40 and '43 and rolls 38 and 27, the rolls 27 is driven by means of gears 30 and 31 as above explained.

In this case both upper belt 46 and lower belt 47 are of V a material which carries embedded in it iron particles such as iron or a ferrous oxide so that their stretches 48 and 49 will be attracted to the plate 50 which is magnetized to attract iron particles.

In FIGURE 6 a still ,ditferent arrangement is provided yet employing the same magnetic system. Here we have .the upper rolls 27 and lower roll 38 .which are driven by gears 30'and 31 with the lower belt 51 whichextends over nose bar 54. In this case theupper belt will carry magnetized material while the lower belt will carry iron particles which will be attracted by the magnetic particles in the belt 53 thus the two belts will be attracted'toward each other in their stretches 55 and 56 which extend between the nip of the rolls and the nose bars. It will of course be understood that the, upper belt might carry the iron particles and the lower belt the magnetic particles without distinguishing fromthe inventive concepts herein.

In FIGURE 7 a still difierent arrangement is provided and yet employing the magnetic system. Here I have upper roll 27 and lower roll 38 driven by gears 30 and 31 with the ordinary belts 57 and 58 extending about these rolls and over the nose bars 59, and .60. However, here there is 'a magnet 61 on the inside of the. lower span of the upper belt and a magnet 62 belowthe upper span of the lower belt. These magnets 61 and 62 are so mounted that they may be relatively movable, either one may be fixed and the other movable toward it or the mounting may be such that both are movable toward each other and these will be arrangedas to polarity so that there.

are opposite poles opposite each other so the magnets will be attracted toward each other to urge stretches 63 and 64 of the belts toward each other to press'against a strand passing between them.

One means of mounting the magnets of FIG. 7 is to permit their reduced ends to extend between the belt and the nose bar with such ends having opposite polarity while the opposite ends of the magnets also having'opposite polarity will loosely rest-on the inner surface of the belts 7' but be drawn toward each other although the belts will slide along them.

.I claim: I a

1. In a drafting apparatus for textilestrands a pair of back rolls, a pair of front rolls, means between 'said pairs of rolls for controlling the strand comprising a relatively rigid plate presenting a surface to be contacted by the textile strand and a belt. guided to present a surface of a stretch-thereof parallel to and in-close proximity to the surface of the plate for controlling the fibers of the strand as it passes between the said surfaces; the material presenting on-e'of said surfaces being magnetized and the material presented at the other of said surfaces being capable of being attracted'by a magnet whereby said surfaces are magnetically drawn toward each other.

2. In a drafting apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said plate is the magnetized material and said belt carries ferrous material to be attracted by said magnet.

3. In a drafting apparatus as in claim l'wherein said belt carries magnetic material and said plate is ferrous material so that the surfaces of the two will be attracted.

. References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS DONALD w. PARKER, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A DRAFTING APPARATUS FOR TEXTILE STRANDS A PAIR OF BACK ROLLS, A PAIR OF FRONT ROLLS, MEANS BETWEEN SAID PAIRS OF FOLLS FOR CONTROLLING THE STRAND COMPRISING A RELATIVELY RIGID PLATE PRESENTING A SURFACE TO BE CONTACTED BY THE TEXTILE STRAND AND A BELT GUIDED TO PRESENT A SURFACE OF A STRETCH THEREOF PARALLEL TO AND IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE SURFACE OF THE PLATE FOR CONTROLLING THE FIBERS OF THE STRAND AS IT PASSES BETWEEN THE SAID SURFACES, THE MATERIAL PRESENTING ONE OF SAID SURFACES BEING MAGNETIZED AND THE MATERIAL PRESENTED AT THE OTHER OF SAID SURFACES BEING CAPABLE OF BEING ATTRACTED BY A MAGNET WHEREBY SAID SURFACES ARE MAGNETICALLY DRAWN TOWARD EACH OTHER. 